Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Houdini letterhead I've never seen (updated)

The website Retronaut has a blog about "Famous Letterheads 1900-1997", which includes this Houdini stationary that I've never seen before. The site dates it as 1912.

Check out all the famous stationary -- which includes Groucho Marx, James Dean, Sigmund Freud, and some cool Star Wars and Bride of Frankenstein letterhead -- at Retronaut.

UPDATE: Reader Chuck Lyons offers up a wonderful contribution to this story. Forty years ago he visited the Library of Congress and got a copy of a Houdini letter on this very letterhead. What's amazing is the letter itself is about the letterhead! Houdini writes:

My 1909-10-11 Letter head. I never liked this one. I never had to write for work, but wanted a note head for general business. Harry Houdini, May 22/1916

8 comments:

I have a phot copy of this very letterhead that I recieved when I went to the library of Congress in Washington as a boy. The curator brought out several pieces and offered to copy them for me as a soviener. Mine has Houdinis signature on it. I wish I could have gotten the original.

Ah, cool, there it is. You're amazing, Eric! Can't see that it's blue in this shot, however. Looks like it was smaller, personal stationary as opposed to letter size. That's a great letter, btw.

Looking back through this catalog... I wonder who got those two spears from Terror Island? I would have done everything I could to get those. I still kick myself for not attending this auction. But my head just wasn't in the Houdini game at the time.